How Long Does It Take to Digest Food? All About Digestion

In general, food takes 24 to 72 hours to move through your digestive tract. The exact time depends on the amounts and types of foods you’ve eaten. The rate is also based on factors like your gender, metabolism, and whether you have any digestive issues that could slow down or speed up the process.

At first, food travels relatively quickly through your digestive system. Within six to eight hours, the food has moved its way through your stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.

Once in your large intestine, the partially digested contents of your meal can sit for more than a day while it’s broken down even more. A Mayo Clinic study found that the average time food spends in the large intestine varies by gender: 33 hours for men and 47 hours for women.

Your digestion rate is also based on what you’ve eaten. Meat and fish can take as long as two days to fully digest. The proteins and fats they contain are complex molecules that take longer for your body to pull apart.

By contrast, fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, move through your system in less than a day. In fact, these high-fiber foods help your digestive track run more efficiently in general.

The quickest to digest are processed, sugary junk foods like candy bars. Your body tears through them in a matter of hours, quickly leaving you hungry again.

Digestion is the process by which your body breaks down food and pulls out the nutrients your body needs to operate. Anything left is a waste product, which your body removes.

Your digestive system is made up of five main parts:

mouth

esophagus

stomach

small intestine

large intestine

This is what happens when you digest food:

As you chew, glands in your mouth release saliva. This digestive liquid contains enzymes that break down the starches in your food. The result is a mushy mass called a bolus that’s easier to swallow.

When you swallow, the food moves down your esophagus — the pipe that connects your mouth to your stomach. A muscular gate called the lower esophageal sphincter opens to let the food move into your stomach.

Acids in your stomach break down the food even more. This produces a mushy mixture of gastric juices and partially digested food, called chyme. This mixture moves on to your small intestine.

In your small intestine, your pancreas and liver contribute their own digestive juices to the mix. Pancreatic juices break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Bile from your liver dissolves fat. Vitamins, other nutrients, and water move through the walls of your small intestine into your bloodstream. The undigested part that remains moves on to your large intestine.

The large intestine absorbs any leftover nutrients from the food. The rest becomes solid waste, called stool.

Manage stress

You might not think much about your digestive system on a daily basis. Yet you’ll know when it’s not working optimally by uncomfortable symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Watch what you eat and stay active to keep your digestive tract moving smoothly and feel your best.

Medically reviewed by Graham Rogers, MD on April 18, 2017 — Written by Stephanie Watson